Evaluating the success of a science academic development programme at a research-intensive university

Abstract:

Academic development (AD) programmes for students not complying with the entrance requirements of
mainstream programmes in science have been running at a number of universities in South Africa. In
this study we contribute to the debate on criteria for the success of AD programmes, specifically in the
context of research-intensive universities in South Africa. We identify five quantitative criteria for
evaluating such a programme: retention, completion rate, migration to other faculties, comparison with
other institutions and enrolment in graduate studies. Most of these criteria are relatively common in
evaluating similar programmes whereas the extent of migration to other faculties is particular to this
study. We illustrate the use of these criteria evaluating the BSc Four Year Programme at the University
of Pretoria based on the group of students who registered for the programme in 2008. We found that
around 15% of this group had completed their studies in the minimum time while the eventual
completion rate of students getting degrees is expected to be in the order of 50%. The attrition rate
across the four year science degree programme was high (43%), but the majority of students who
terminated their studies did so during the first year. Of those still enrolled in their fourth year a high
percentage of students remained in science-related programmes (79%). The fact that more than half of
first graduates had enrolled for postgraduate programmes in 2012 is a criterion for success that is
especially important for a research-intensive university.